Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Case ReportsColchicine and indomethacin for the treatment of relapsing polychondritis☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Case report
A 63-year-old man presented for evaluation to the Charles C. Harris Skin and Cancer Center of New York University. His medical history included a cardiovascular accident in June 1996 with residual right eye blindness, hypothyroidism, tinnitus since childhood, and sporadic burning ears since August 1996. The patient had a family history of diabetes mellitus, and his medications included L-thyroxine, nicotinic acid, and amoxicillin-clavulanate. He denied a personal history of arthritis. On
Discussion
Our patient's clinical findings clearly met the diagnostic criteria of McAdam et al.2 Traditional management of relapsing polychondritis typically includes systemic corticosteroids, and prednisone was our initial treatment. Although the waxing and waning nature of this disease is well known, the minimum tolerable dosage of prednisone was significantly decreased with the addition of colchicine and then indomethacin. In addition, the rapid clearing of the patient's symptoms within 48 hours of
References (30)
Colchicine for treatment of relapsing polychondritis
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1984)- et al.
Erythema elevatum diutinum in a patient with relapsing polychondritis
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1992) Relapsing polychondritis
- et al.
Relapsing polychondritis: prospective study of 23 patients and a review of the literature
Medicine
(1976) - et al.
Systemic disease and the skin
Relapsing polychondritis
- et al.
Relapsing polychondritis
Ann Intern Med
(1998) Cutaneous manifestations of disorders of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems
Relapsing polychondritis
Cutis
(1983)- et al.
Cyclosporin A treatment in a case of relapsing polychondritis
Scand J Rheumatol
(1984)
Relapsing polychondritis: autoimmunity to type II collagen and treatment with cyclosporin A
Br J Dermatol
The cartilage collagens: a review of their structure, organization, and role in the pathogenesis of experimental arthritis in animals and in human rheumatic disease
J Mol Med
Monoclonal antibody therapy in rheumatic disease
Presse Med
Involvement of nonarticular cartilage, as demonstrated by release of a cartilage-specific protein, in rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis Rheum
Subtle clues to diagnosis of immunopathology: relapsing polychondritis
Am J Dermatopathol
Cited by (29)
Relapsing polychondritis: What's new in 2017?
2018, Revue de Medecine InterneRelapsing polychondritis: A 2016 update on clinical features, diagnostic tools, treatment and biological drug use
2016, Best Practice and Research: Clinical RheumatologyCitation Excerpt :It is used rarely [23]. Colchicine may be effective in non-severe auricular chondritis and peripheral articular chondritis [28,106–108]. More recently, clinical case reports have described leflunomide [109] and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins [110] as being effective.
Relapsing polychondritis in the department of defense population and review of the literature
2012, Seminars in Arthritis and RheumatismCitation Excerpt :A literature review provided treatment options based on disease severity and organ involvement. In 1 case, colchicine and indomethocin were effective as steroid-sparing therapies in a patient with refractory auricular chondritis and episcleritis who had failed azathioprine (49,50). However, most patients described in the literature were treated with varying doses of corticosteroids as first-line therapy and other DMARDs or biologics were initiated in an attempt to taper the corticosteroid dosage and maintain remission.
Relapsing Polychondritis
2012, Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology: Volume 1-2, Ninth EditionMiscellaneous conditions
2009, Weedon's Skin Pathology: Third EditionRelapsing polychondritis: An analysis of 11 patients
2007, Reumatologia Clinica
- ☆
This supplement is made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Stiefel Laboratories to the American Academy of Dermatology.
- ☆☆
Reprint requests: Andrew G. Franks, Jr, MD, Department of Dermatology, 560 1st Ave, Ste H100, New York, NY 10016.